1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a kit for testing demulsification of production waste or oil/water/solids emulsions. In particular, a portable kit for on-site testing of production waste generated during refinery operations, as production by-products, emulsions, slop oils, slurries and tank bottoms which accumulate in process vessels and tanks.
2. Background Art
Production waste in generated in refineries and processing facilities and constitute production by-products, emulsions, slop oils, slurries and tank bottoms which accumulate in process vessels and tanks. This production waste is typically strong oil and water emulsions, chemically bound by naturally occurring soaps and various mixtures of stabilizing fine sand, scale, and wax. These wastes often form stable emulsions with rainwater or produced water and also contain waxy components which further stabilize the emulsion. Often these wastes are allowed to stand in open outdoor pits for multiple years. During this time, light-end hydrocarbons are volatilized and released from the mixture, leaving behind heavy nonvolatile species which encapsulate entrained water and solids, enhancing the stability of the emulsion. This production waste is often referred to as exploration and production wastes, and may be abbreviated simply as E&P waste.
E&P waste may be land filled, incinerated, and/or re-injected back into an existing well once the waste is made suitable for re-injection. However, in view of environmental concerns and the value of the petroleum present in the E&P waste, efforts may be made to reclaim at least a portion of the petroleum in the waste. This reclamation process may include characterization and testing of the waste to determine the optimal strategy for reclamation. However, in view of the remote locations such waste may exist at, sampling and testing/characterization of the waste may result in long delay times, expense, and depending on the waste composition, erroneous results. It is advantageous to test E&P wastes on-site, where the waste is abundant and testing can be conducted in an economically viable period of time. In addition, during treatment of the waste, process optimization is essential and can be tested on-site in small scale.
Testing of E&P waste requires specialized equipment, which includes laboratory glassware and other scientific components which are not amenable to being shipped to remote locations. On-site production waste testing presents formidable challenges in terms of logistics and complexity. Accordingly, a need exists to enable on-site production waste testing, especially in remote locations.